Whilst 2021 continues to be questioned as a result of ‘Cashgate’, there is no argument that Red Bull have been dominant in 2022, with the side setting their sights on sealing their superiority this year with a one-two in the Drivers’ Championship.
Depending on the punishment awarded to the Austrians for their budget cap breach, many will argue that by exceeding the cap last season that they’ve benefited from it this season.
There is potentially no argument for this, depending on what the side exceeded on last season, but regardless of that, this season has been without a doubt their strongest in Formula 1.
Double World Champion Max Verstappen has been an integral part of that; the Dutchman has staggeringly claimed 12 wins so far this season, with it being highly likely he’ll extend that number across the final four races of the year.
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With Verstappen being as imperious as he’s been, it’s made for a somewhat boring championship, with Red Bull on the verge of their first Constructors’ Championship since 2013.
The Mercedes era is well and truly over, with Verstappen believing that Red Bull’s time back at the top will continue to last whilst they have an “amazing team together”.
“It will be about keeping this amazing team together,” he said.
“If we can do that, we can achieve a great deal together. It depends of course on the competitiveness of our opponents, but I firmly believe in more wins and titles.”
It’s incredible to think that Verstappen ruled himself out of the title fight after the Australian Grand Prix, where he retired for the second time in the first three races of the season.
He found himself over 40 points behind Charles Leclerc, with the 25-year-old believing that the team would need “33 or 36 races” to overcome their reliability issues.
The tables well and truly turned in 2022, with it being Ferrari who have suffered from a catalogue of issues.
“Max said at the time that we needed 33 or 36 races to catch up – thank God we got it done quicker,” Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko told Servus TV.
“It was also crucial that we had better reliability than Ferrari but it also took an excellent performance from Max. I will never forget the manoeuvre at the start against Leclerc in Suzuka – that was extraterrestrial.”
With the Drivers’ Championship and realistically the Constructors’ Championship being wrapped up, the team are targeting claiming a one-two in the standings.
This is one of the very few achievements the side have never accomplished, with that relying solely on Sergio Pérez.
The Mexican does currently occupy second in the standings but will be under pressure from Charles Leclerc in the final rounds of the season.
“When you win, you always see that you can still optimise it,” Marko said.
“We have now clinched six drivers’ world championship titles, but we have never had both drivers in the top two places at the end of a season.”
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Despite Verstappen being just two race wins short of claiming the record of most wins in a single season, Marko has insisted that for the team itself, Pérez securing second in the championship is “more important”.
“I’m sure the 13 victories will work out, and if possible a 14th,” Marko told Osterreich newspaper.
“But it is more important to us that Perez secures his second place.”